The Andhairavid Empire, thanks to the patience and wisdom of its glorious Shah and Khagan, is now economically prosperous once again. The new bureaucratic organization and a more sophisticated political system have given Andhaira the opportunity for economic consolidation. The Empire is rich and mighty. It is righteous and proper therefore, that Andhaira should go forth and subjugate the Hindus and add their lands to the domains of his forefathers. The Dar al-Islam has receded as of late. With Allah's blessing, the Khan of Khans will expand the frontiers of the Religion of Peace. Through glorious Jihad! For this to happen, the Andhairavid army must become the mightiest in all of Hindustan. The Shah commissions a royal artillery regiment for the Sindhi Horde, to assist in cracking open the tough Hindu fortifications.
The Shah also begins to develop military tactics for use on the battlefield. Most soldiers in the Andhairavid military still use the traditional curved sword and bow. The firearm has only been taken up wholeheartedly by the infidels to the south and east. Still, firearms alone are not enough to ensure victory on the battlefield. The Hindus lack proper drilling and organization. Even if his forces are inferior technologically, the Shah is confident that with superior organization and discipline, he can prevail.
Further west, the war between the Khans of Persia and Samarkand has come to a close, with the Turkomans emerging victorious. It would appear the Transoxianans were so severely mauled in their campaign across the steppe that they were forced to concede.The Khan of Persia only demanded a narrow strip of territory, just enough to connect his Persian and Central Asian land. They've both probably lost out overall. The Persian Khan gets to enjoy some worthless nomadic territory, while the Khan of Samarkand has now been blocked from further expansion.
Also a PU in the thigh and groin region of Italy.
Delhi is cored via Codex sanctioned save game editing
More Sufis travel to Gujarat and Rajputana to preach and settle. Although the Sufis are looked upon unfavorably by more traditional Muslims, the Shah is delighted by their presence. a Sunni majority in Baroda continues to elude him, but the Sunni population is still slowly growing.
But of course, all good things must come to an end. The reign of Andhaira V has is over. Andhaira is dead! Long live Andhaira! This new Andhaira is not particularly suited to military conquest, but his faith in Allah will bring him many victories, or some nonsense like that.
Meanwhile, ITZ just hit France.
Seeing as we're in Europe, here are some infidel antics. Not much has happened after ITZ was averted in Central Europe. The Knights of Rhodes have relocated again. Bavaria, now Emperor, has inherited Imperial lands from Austria.
Your shit is toast, Bihar.
After I recruit some more troops
Meanwhile, Sikh refugees flood out Transoxiana, seeking refuge in Multan. The Guru welcomes them with open arms, but the influx of thousands of foreigners does raise a stir.
I'm not sure if this is the result of my heathen tolerance or of the Sikh Haven in Multan. Probably the latter, as I've never had this event with heathen or heretic religions
To war! The Shah officially sends his declaration of war to the Bihari King, prompting the Vidyaniggers to march on Baroda. They are welcome to try. The Shah will grind them up with his mighty teeth and feed their gore to the royal attack goats
Thanks bros, when push comes to shove, I might just not rain furious hellfire down upon you.
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ANDHAIRA! WHAT IS BEST IN LIFE?
TO EXASPERATE YOUR ENEMIES!
TO DRIVE THEM BEFORE THE GD!
TO HEAR THE LAMENTATIONS OF THEIR MODERATORS!
Andhaira and Conan quickly move to capture the province of Agra, to guard against any possible flank attacks through Gondwana. The Shah quickly retreats, to defend against a possible Bihari counterattack. Preferably they will attack, then the Shah can crush them and push down towards the Ganges Delta.
As expected, the Bihari King sends presumably the last remains of his army to try and stop Andhaira. Which imbecile at his court decided sending a vastly outnumbered force to fight off an Andhaira I do not know. If the Bihari King is like most other Asian despots, he should probably start praying to one of his heathen polytheist "deities".
On the smaller Southern front, Vijayanagari troops begin to pour into Baroda. Fortunately they make no attempt to properly organize their attacks, so there is no great threat of defeat.
The result is a string of victories. Not particularly decisive, but still solid triumphs. The Bihari force will be pursued down the Ganges. When they are beaten, the Shah can confidently divide his forces to properly occupy the Ganges and Nepal.
Meanwhile, Finland!
Indonesia! We'll have to rob the native of their delicious spices sooner or later.
The last Bihari force is decisively crushed at Lucknow. The way to Bihar itself and the Ganges Delta is open, although for now the Shah is content to settle for the Western Bihar lands and some of Nepal.
The Shah personally lays siege to the Bihari capital city, while his generals push down the Ganges further west. Knowing how sieges work in this game, I'll probably be forced out by the sheer bloody minded defiance of the garrison. Capital cities get a big defensive bonus, as they should.
The surprisingly friendly Hindu state of Bundelkhand allows the Shah to march through its territory, to stop an incoming Vijayanagari force marching in through Gondwana.
I don't intend to take this province, although I would if not for the infamy cost. The Vidyanegroes have yet to put up much resistance. I'm not sure how they managed to beat Gondwana. They have no military ideas whatsoever. I want to secure their land route to Baroda though, just in case they have an enormous stack roaming around fighting rebels or something.
After repulsing the Vidyanegro attack, Andhairavid troops begin to gain some ground against Bihari defenders. Nepal will probably prove a tougher nut to crack, but with the judicial application of enormous phallic guns, anything is possible.
So far the Hindus have not put up much of a fight. They have lost every single battle. I was expecting tougher resistance. Perhaps in future, if the mythical Superstar ever finds his way to the battlefield, things will take a different turn. He is curiously absent. Perhaps he has left to defend the Hindu Kingdoms to the east.
Meanwhile, Khorasan seems to have sprung up again, cutting the Turkomans off from their steppe territory.
Butthurt detected.
It'd be nice if there was an option to crush troublesome factions through military force.
The troops of the Delhi Horde continue to tear considerable strips of territory out of Bihar. Not much progress has been made besieging Bihar itself, but the Bihari are firmly beaten at this point. As long as the siege assaults don't fuck me, crushing victory is assured. Otherwise, I'll have to settle for not so crushing but still pretty decisive victory.
Ooh.
Thanks to the application of overwhelming firepower and abuse of attrition mechanics, Nepal and a huge stretch of the Ganges is occupied by Andhairavid troops. The war is won, but Andhaira VI insists that Bihar must be captured as a symbolic gesture.
Of course, I attempt to assault Bihar and fail miserably, despite a breached wall result. With only 1500 or so men left, Bihari raids are beginning to take their toll. It looks like the Andhairavids may have to settle for that still pretty decisive victory after all.
Having suffered horrendous casualties in the siege of Bihar, the Shah retreats up the Ganges. A peace is negotiated with the Bihari King, demanding that he hand over a large swathe of Nepal and the Ganges. It's mostly agricultural land. No really rich or powerful cities have been captured, but it is still a significant territorial gain. Bihar will make a fine addition to the Empire when it is conquered, alongside Delhi and Baroda.
The Vidyanegro King, on the other hand, is completely unwilling to concede anything whatsoever. In fact, he is even unwilling to sign a truce at all! This causes a considerable stir amongst both the Vidyanegro Aristocracy and peasantry. Andhaira VI wisely realises this, and attempts to exploit it by offering generous peace terms. Soon, the Vidyanegroes ill be so disunited that their King will be forced to concede defeat.
CODEX, WHAT IS BEST IN LIFE?!
Probably a whole horde of lurkers out there thinking the same; Photobucket's the best metric.
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